Trump announces deal for huge US stake in Venezuelan oil reserves

President Donald Trump announced on Friday that his administration has reached a major oil deal with Venezuela, granting the United States majority control over 65 billion barrels of proven petroleum reserves. This significant agreement, dubbed the largest oil deal in world history by Trump, is expected to inject nearly $100 billion in private investment into Venezuela, according to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Venezuela possesses the world's largest proven oil reserves, and despite ongoing pressure and scrutiny from the Trump administration since the ousting and capture of former President Nicolas Maduro in January, the government allowed Vice President Delcy Rodriguez to remain in place as interim leader, provided she adheres to US directives.

Trump has been vocal about his ambition to secure Venezuelan oil for the US, stating in his post on Truth Social that the deal will more than double US oil reserves. While there has been no official confirmation from the Venezuelan government, Rubio emphasized the strengthened relationship between the two nations in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.

The deal, reached through a partnership with private business, is anticipated to bring substantial benefits to both countries and the Venezuelan people, including nearly $100 billion in private investment, thousands of high-paying jobs, and the reconstruction of Venezuela's economy. Axios reported that the US and Venezuela are negotiating over a dozen productive oil fields totaling 90 billion barrels of proven reserves, roughly a third of Venezuela's total proven reserves of 300 billion barrels.

In exchange for a US ownership stake, private companies, including American firms, would develop the fields and return more oil revenue to Venezuela.